Yvonne
Very recently, when I crashed my car and was worried about not having enough money, some of you, my readers, offered to help me out. I was touched and astounded by your generosity; it was something I'd never expected.
As it turns out, I was blessed with cash gifts from two different friends, and declined other offers of help because I had enough with which to manage. May I now ask that what you would have offered me, you give to this 19-year-old girl instead?
Yvonne Foong suffers from an incurable illness called Neurofibromatosis Type 2. This illness causes benign tumours to grow in the brain, on the spine, and under the skin. The tumours also affect the auditory nerves, causing bilateral deafness and imbalance prior to their removal.
She's losing her hearing pretty fast (it's down to 5%) and will lose it completely if she does not have surgery soon. In her own words, "It's not just my hearing that I'm trying to save, but also my facial nerve and balance nerve. If I have the tumour removed in Malaysia, I will suffer from facial paralysis, my balance nerve will be sacrificed and I will be deaf in an instant. The House Clinic associates [in the United States] are the only doctors in the world familiar with decompression to buy time for my hearing and save me from facial paralysis."
Yvonne, who used to dance ballet, sing in a choir, play the piano, figure skate, and took karate lessons, is now unable to do any of those things because of the Neurofibromatosis. She now aims to raise awareness of this little-known disease through her writing -- not only does she blog, she has authored a book about her experience with Neurofibromatosis, which will be published in about three months' time. The book is titled, I知 Not Sick, Just A Bit Unwell.
She needs US$28,600 (about RM108,000) for her surgery. Her need is so much greater than mine ever was. The same generosity and kindness you showed to me, I ask that you'll show to her.